My progress...

Monday, June 14, 2010

Another scale that is on its way down...

Before I eat a little breakfast and head out to the gym (All weekend I have been counting down the hours until I could get back on the elliptical. It's like aliens have taken over my body.), I thought I would talk a little bit about what I discovered at the end of last week. I was sharing some information on an on-line message board about basal metabolic rate and how to calculate your daily calorie needs. In doing so, I started to think about my BMI. When I started this journey, my BMI was 43. That is in the "morbidly obese" category (over 40), and it was horrifying. When I think of someone who is morbidly obese, I think of someone who can't get out of bed, who weighs so much that they can't walk up and down stairs, who can't hold their arms down at their sides because the fat gets in the way, who can't buy their clothes at normal stores. I don't think of myself at all. However, the numbers on that scale told me I was morbidly obese. And quite honestly, I was a bit ashamed, and once I read that label, I never went back to a BMI calculator because I didn't want to feel that way again.

I recalculated my BMI last week, and it was gone down SIX points to 37. Now, I am still obese (Class II), according to this measurement. However, I am no longer morbidly obese, and I feel so great about this! I shared some goals in an earlier post that I am working toward, so let's look at what my BMI will be when I reach those goals. When I reach my goal of being the lowest weight I have ever been since getting married, I will still have a BMI of about 37. This is only 1.6 pounds away, and it is so close that I can taste it! I am hoping this happens this week or next week! When I reach my goal of being the weight I was when I joined eDiets (221 pounds), my BMI will be 34.6, which will shave me down just into Obesity Class I. And when I hit my goal of 200 pounds by my 35th birthday, I will still be in Obesity Class I with a BMI of 31.32. But I will NEVER AGAIN be morbidly obese. I refuse to let that label take back over my life.

I take all this BMI stuff with a grain of salt, really. I know that the vast differences in body types means that a BMI calculation might not mean a lot. I know I will never be a size 2. But as I work toward being healthy (and losing weight in the process), the BMI measurement is a tool that I can use, along with the scale, to gauge my progress. It isn't an indicator of my success, as I consider every day that I get up and eat less and move more and make good decisions for the majority of my day to be a success. But progress is sweet to see, and I can't wait to see more of it.